Superbug is deadlier than COVID-19; situation worse in Pacific
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Researchers have also warned the health experts that if this superbug is ignored any longer, it could cause more harm than coronvairus and take nearly 350 million lives till 2050
A recent study has revealed that 'superbugs' may be more dangerous than the novel coronavirus that took over the world in the beginning of this year.
Warning about the bug, Dr Paul De Barro, biosecurity research director at Australia’s national science agency, the CSIRO told local media, “If you thought Covid was bad, you don’t want anti-microbial resistance.”
“I don’t think I’m exaggerating to say it’s the biggest human health threat, bar none. Covid is not anywhere near the potential impact of AMR.”
AMR stands for antimicrobial resistance and can reportedly take humans "back into the dark ages of health.”
The warning has been sound by the Australian scientist, who has also said that while the world is at risk, the problem is acute in the Pacific region.
The drug-resistant bacteria can put the health system at far greater risk than imaginable in the Pacific region as there is very less official data available on this bacteria, and even lesser public knowledge.
“A challenge for Pacific island countries and territories is trying to curtail antimicrobial excess, without jeopardising antimicrobial access for those who need them,” the paper argued.
The study has come a month after the Fiji government announced that 10 people lost their lives to leptospirosis and more than a thousand are suffering from it — a bacterial infection that affects both animals and humans.
The scientists have also warned that unlike coronavirus, social distancing and wearing face masks cannot keep you safe from this disease as this bacteria exists in food, water, air and our everyday-use substances and resources.
Researchers have also warned the health experts that if this superbug is ignored any longer, it could cause more harm than coronvairus and take nearly 350 million lives till 2050.
“For instance, we’ve identified people who have a multi-drug-resistant form of tuberculosis and need newer, stronger medication for a longer period of time and those stronger antibiotics are more expensive,” said Dr Donald Wilson, associate dean at the Fiji National University’s College of Medicine.